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Vulcan
Vulcan is a Class M planet in the Vulcan system and homeworld of the humanoid Vulcans, a founding member of the Federation. The planet is located "a little over" 16 light years from Earth. It has no moons, but appears to have close planetary companions. Planetary features Vulcan has a considerably higher gravity and thinner atmosphere than Earth. Its climate is generally harsh, with most of the surface consisting of large deserts or mountain ranges, along with scattered small seas. Desert areas are prone to large amounts of heat, light and electrical sand fire storms. There are several tourist attractions on Vulcan, including active volcanos, ancient ruins, and lava fields. When Charles Tucker visited the planet in 2154, he didn't know which site he would look at first. Other points of interest include religious sites such as; * The Temple of Amonak * The Temple of T'Panit * The T'Karath Sanctuary Cities and regions * Gol * Kir (city) * Raal * Shi'Kahr * T'Paal (city) Land features and formations * Fire Plains * Lake Yuron * L-langon Mountains * Mount Tar'Hana * Mount Seleya * Osana caverns * Voroth Sea * Vulcan's Forge Vulcan biota * Le-matya * Sehlat * Vulcan marsupial * Vulcan sandworm History As early as the mid-20th century the planet Vulcan had contact with the Tellarites and, covertly, with Humans. By the late 21st century or early 22nd century they had established contact with the Humans, Cardassians, Klingons, Tholians and Trill, among others. In 2152 there were over a million Medical practitioners on Vulcan. During the mid-22nd century, the death penalty was still common practice in Vulcan courts for a small number of offenses, including treason. Before co-founding the Federation in 2161, Vulcan was in conflict with Andoria. It controlled the Coridan government, and had exchanged ambassadors with Earth and Qo'noS, among others. Tobin Dax met Iloja of Prim during the Cardassian's exile on Vulcan. During the early months of the Dominion War, the Fifth Fleet was fighting the Dominion near Vulcan. In 2374, Ishka was given special dispensation by Grand Nagus Zek to leave Ferenginar for Vulcan to have her ears raised. On her way back, she was captured by the Dominion. Later that same year, Betazed fell to the Dominion, and Major Kira Nerys noted that they would now be in a position to threaten Vulcan. Shortly thereafter, Kira confirmed that the Dominion had been building up its forces on Betazed and that they would be able to launch an attack on Vulcan. In 2375, Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien chased "phantoms" from Deep Space 9 to Vulcan, hoping to infiltrate Section 31. Related topics 'Vulcans' The Vulcans (also known as "Vulcanians") are a humanoid species widely known for their logical minds and stoic culture. The Vulcan homeworld is the planet Vulcan. As a civilization, Vulcans were instrumentally responsible for the founding of the United Federation of Planets. 'Technology (AC)' Although a great deal of technology used by most Vulcans is Federation Based there are a few item mostly used in High Command ships. The most notable of technology be weapons and other hand held equipment such as the; Vulcan IDIC Combadge The IDIC Combadge uses the same purpose as the Starfleet Combadge. Its basic functions are; Universal Translators (UT), Person to Person/ Person to ship communication and Subspace Distress Beacon. The Vulcan combadge has been upgraded using Aurian technology and now allows the combadge to carry data, usually in the form of logs. The data storage is somewhat limited but is able to hold nearly 3 hours of audio recording. A small projection device has been place into it to be used as a display for the data if accessed correctly. The communications can be set for ship comm network, or stand alone network with other Badges but the range is more limited. Vulcan Phaser: The Vulcan phaser is is nearly as versatile as the Starfleet type. Vulcan phasers have a green energy beam compared to the Starfleet red/orange. The phaser can be set to three main settings "stun", "kill" and "heat". At the maximum setting the phaser is capable is disintegrating its target. Its also capable of firing a wide spead beam. Vulcan Phaser Rifle, two versions: The Vulcan Phaser Rifle is basically a more powerful version of the of the hand phaser. It can be set to fire a phaser pulse or a beam depending on the users prefrence and what is needed for the current situation. Vulcan Tricorder. Vulcan PADD. History and politics Culturally one of the most fascinating species in the Federation, the Vulcans were once an extremely violent and emotional people (even by Earth standards) who waged almost constant warfare on one another. They believed in a variety of gods, such as war, peace and death. As their level of technology improved, the Vulcans eventually reached a point where their violent nature threatened species extinction. In an effort to avoid this fate, a Vulcan named Surak developed a new philosophy thereby igniting the [Time of Awakening. Surak maintained that the root cause of all the problems on Vulcan lay in the uncontrolled outpouring of the people's emotions. His followers swore to live their lives by an ethical system devised by Surak and based purely on logical principles. Emotions were to be controlled and repressed. Although this new philosophy spread rapidly across Vulcan, a minority, many of whom were known as "those who march beneath the Raptor's wings", rejected Surak's ideals. A destructive war began including the use of atomic bombs and among the victims was Surak himself. Eventually, however, those who opposed logic left Vulcan and founded colonies elsewhere; most notably on the planet Romulus, where they founded what eventually became the Romulan Star Empire. At some point in history, the Romulans and the Vulcans engaged in a 100-year long war against one another. The war was instigated by the actions of a member of the Q Continuum. Another group that rejected Surak's philosophy was known as the "V'tosh ka'tur" or "Vulcans without Logic". The V'tosh ka'tur believed in controlling emotions by allowing themselves to actively experience them rather than suppressing them. Many of these also left Vulcan, and took up a nomadic existence. The Vulcans were one of the first of the current powers to develop warp drive, though a century would pass between the first warp flight and the breaking of the warp 2 barrier. The Vulcans conducted a series of survey missions to the Sol system, as early as 1957. The official first contact between Vulcans and Humans came on April, 2063 when a Vulcan survey ship detected the warp flight of Zefram Cochrane's Phoenix. The Vulcans met with Cochrane at his launch site on the day following the flight. The Vulcans eventually became Earth's "big brother" in a way, advising Earth officials on how to proceed into the galaxy. The Vulcan High Command considered Humans volatile and similar to Vulcans before the Time of Awakening, and so attempted to slow down humanity's move into the galaxy until the time was right. :In "Little Green Men" Quark, while in 1947, said that he intended to give warp technology to the Ferengi so that they would have it before the Vulcans, although numerous other sources suggest that the Vulcans had warp drive centuries before that. Most likely Quark was simply unaware of this. The Vulcans might have had warp drive at least a hundred years prior to the 1st millennium BC/9th century BC, when the P'Jem monastery was built on a planet presumably several light years from Vulcan, however this trip could theoretically have been made using only impulse drives, possibly in sleeper ships. By the 21st century and 22nd century, the Vulcans would have also made contact with the Cardassians, Trill, Tholians, Klingons, and scores of other races. In contrast to their tradition of peaceful exploration, the Vulcans have also had a long history of border skirmishes with the neighboring Andorians. The Humans helped negotiate a peace between the two over the disputed Class D planetoid, known to the Vulcans as Paan Mokar. In the 22nd century, the Vulcan High Command, once in charge only of space exploration and planetary defense, gained much more control over civilian affairs. Under the High Command's leadership, Vulcan policy toward other planets became more aggressive and interventionist, using the ancient monastery at P'Jem to spy on Andorian activities. Vulcan also became less tolerant of political and philosophical challenges towards the High Command's operations, notably engaging in purges of the Syrrannite group, who claimed that Vulcan society was no longer following the teachings of Surak. These tensions came to a head in the crisis called the Vulcan Reformation, which resulted in the overthrow of the High Command (and its leader, V'Las, who was secretly allied with the Romulans) and a restructuring of the Vulcan government under the leadership of Kuvak and T'Pau]. One of the first acts of the new government was to end the policy of holding back Human expansion into the galaxy. As of the 23rd century, Vulcan had never been conquered in its collective memory. That memory goes so far back that Vulcans can't conceive of a conqueror. :In "The Conscience of the King" Spock declines to have a drink with McCoy by saying that his people were "spared the dubious benefits of alcohol", McCoy scorns Spock's refusal by stating that he now knows why Vulcan was conquered. This directly contradicts the above. It has been argued that McCoy was probably just being facetious. However, since the Federation is based on Earth, even after the Vulcans held sway over Humans a century before its foundation, one could figuratively attest that at least Vulcan's "influence" over Earth was conquered and how Humans came to have a greater influence than Vulcans in Federation affairs. Today, Vulcan remains one of the principal Federation members, and is deeply involved in all levels of that society. Their tradition of exploration has continued; in the 24th century, a Vulcan ship was the first to make formal contact with a Gamma Quadrant civilization, upon encountering the Wadi. They were at the forefront of exploration in the Gamma Quadrant, encountering the Rakhari and finding the remains of the Hur'q civilization. Despite the enmity between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire, some Vulcans have been attempting to forge a more cordial relationship with their cousins, ultimately hoping to reunify the two cultures. So far these efforts have met with little success. In the wake of the Reman uprising, as well as the improved relations between the Romulans and the Federation after the Dominion War, it is unclear what the current status of this movement is. In the 24th century, the Vulcan ministry of security was known as the V'Shar. Genetically, Vulcans and Humans are similar enough that they can produce offspring without any problems. Externally, Vulcans are generally similar to Humans, the chief exceptions being the Vulcans' notably arched and upswept eyebrows and distinguished external ear structure, the top of which tapers into a clearly defined point. Most Vulcans have straight, glossy dark brown or, more commonly, black hair and pale skin with a very subtle greenish tinge, much as the skin of Humans of European descent has a very subtle reddish/pinkish tinge. However, some Vulcans, including Tuvok, have brown skin, tightly coiled black hair, and physiognomic features similar to those found in Humans of African descent. Vulcans have body hair similar to Humans, and some males can be very hirsute. Vulcan males are also capable of growing facial hair (as evidenced by Sybok and both Spock (mirror) and Soval (mirror), but rarely do so. Vulcans possess teeth that Humans do not have. These include anterior tricuspids, the presence of which implies that Vulcans also have posterior tricuspids. Vulcan teeth may be chemically capped, as human teeth may be since the 20th century, in order to prevent decay. :Tricuspids are likely a form of premolar as bicupids are in Humans. It is unclear to what extent the presence of tricuspids affects the arrangement of Vulcans' teeth, that is, whether tricuspids exist and bicuspids do not, whether they are arranged behind bicuspids in the place occupied in Humans by molars, or whether they exist in addition to both the two bicuspids and three molars in the Human arrangement. From existing images of Vulcans, it can be determined that Vulcans lack neither incisors nor canines, teeth that are arranged nearer the front of the jaw than premolars and molars. In contrast to their external similarities, Vulcan internal anatomy differs radically from that of Humans. For instance, their heart is where a Human's liver would normally be, and beats several hundred times per minute. They also have no appendix. Vulcan blood is copper-based and is copper- or rust-colored when deoxygenated in the veins and green when oxygenated in the arteries. Bruises and dermal abrasions therefore take on a green color. Vulcans possess a highly efficient respiratory system to extract the oxygen they need from Vulcan's thin atmosphere. They are most comfortable in high temperatures, which is natural given the hot, arid climate of their homeworld. The Vulcan digestive tract is highly adaptable. Although alien foods, notably Human food, will occasionally disagree with a Vulcan, given time, their body will eventually adapt to the alien food. Vulcan hearing is very sensitive. Vulcan females possess a heightened sense of smell. Having evolved on a planet which is mostly desert, Vulcans have developed ways of surviving in desert conditions. For example, they can survive for several days without water and have inner eyelids which protect their eyes. Vulcans have a superior metabolism to Humans. Caffeine and sapotoxins have little effect on them. They are also capable of surviving for long durations without food or sleep. Under stress, Vulcans can do without sleep for weeks. Vulcans are on average three times physically stronger than humans, and have considerably faster reflexes. Vulcans are very sensitive to nitrous oxide gas, which rapidly renders them unconscious. Vulcans typically have a lifespan of 200 years or more. The brain Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Vulcan physiology is the brain. The Vulcan brain has been described as "a puzzle, wrapped inside an enigma, housed inside a cranium." This has some basis in fact, as the Vulcan brain is composed of many layers. It is in direct control of most of the bodily functions, acting as a control unit for many organs. Despite this, a Vulcan body from which the brain has been removed is capable of functioning and even walking around (albeit in a zombie-like state) with a portable life support system. Unlike most humanoid brains, traumatic memories are not only psychologically disturbing to Vulcans, but have physical consequences as well. The Vulcan brain, in reordering neural pathways, can literally lobotomize itself. Vulcans have learned to gain conscious control of many of these functions, allowing them to regulate their bodies to a high degree by simple will power. When injured a Vulcan can go into a trance-like state, using this ability to concentrate all of his or her energy onto repairing the injury. This trance can be self-induced and give the physical appearance of near-death. It is similar, in principle, to Vulcan neuropressure techniques which can be used to relax the mind and body. The substance trellium-D acts as a neurotoxin to Vulcans, destroying the neuron pathways which control their emotions. Treatment must be provided quickly after exposure, otherwise the damage is irreversible. The most famous aspect of the Vulcan brain is the inherent telepathy|telepathic abilities, such as the Vulcan mind meld. Vulcans are natural touch-telepaths. Though considerable training is required to utilize this ability to the fullest (this would be performing the fal-tor-pan), simpler contacts do not require any concentration, training or even conscious knowledge of the act. Stronger minds are capable of non-contact telepathic projection and scanning, usually over short distances, Another psionic ability of the Vulcan race is the telepathic suggestion/compulsion, consciously performed by Spock, Sybok, Tuvok, and T'Pol, and unconsciously performed by Sarek. Although Vulcans do not, typically, allow themselves to experience uncontrolled strong emotions, they may sense them in others. Besides the Trill, who achieve this through the zhian'tara ritual, Vulcans are the only other known humanoid race capable of performing a synaptic pattern displacement, or the transfer of one individual's consciousness into another. Similar feats were also performed by the people of Sargon's planet, Janice Lester, Dr. Ira Graves, Rao Vantika and Tieran, though they used technology instead of psionic abilities to achieve it. Some Vulcans have also demonstrated the ability known as telekinesis. :Sharp eyed viewers of film 3 will notice that in the scene where Spock is taken up to the temple for the fal-tor-pan ritual, the "priestesses" are not carrying the bier by its handles, but by holding their hands '''above' it.'' :There is some fan speculation that this was actually use of anti-gravity, but since the scene was shot within the Seleya monastery it is not too far-fetched to assume that the use of psionic abilities by those masters of Vulcan psionics is more likely than the use of advanced technology. :The non-canon Star Trek: Vulcan's Soul novel ''Exodus also suggests that the priests of Gol and Mount Seleya are able to use telekinesis.'' The psycho-suppression system responsible for the Vulcan suppression of emotions is located in the mesiofrontal cortex. Approximately every seven years, adult Vulcans must endure pon farr, the Vulcan mating period. It is marked by intense emotions and primal urges (known as plak tow, or "blood fever") that can kill the Vulcan if not satisfied. Physiological symptoms include elevated dopamine levels and fever. For such an orderly society of quiet sobriety, the madness which accompanies the outbreak of pon farr is an unavoidable evil. :In "Bounty", T'Pol experienced an accelerated ''pon farr caused by exposure to a pathogen. Despite the abnormal trigger stimulus, T'Pol indicated to Phlox that her symptoms were entirely normal for a Vulcan in her "condition."'' :It is interesting to note that despite being 65 earth years old, T'Pol had not yet experienced her first ''pon farr. It is not established whether T'Pol's pon farr in the mirror universe was naturally-occurring or prematurely induced.'' Medical conditions There are several diseases that the Vulcan species suffers from which include: *Pa'nar Syndrome *Tuvan Syndrome *Bendii Syndrome *Choriocytosis Society The government on Vulcan is a representative democracy. Individual political advancement is based on meritocratic principles. For an intensely logical race, the Vulcans do have spiritual beliefs. Though little is known about the details, their religious system is polytheism|polytheistic. They also believe in the katra, the soul and consciousness of a person, which can be transferred psionically prior to death. Vulcans are generally non-violent, but logic dictates that combat is sometimes necessary. Vulcans can and do use weapons and practice martial arts called "Tal-Shaya", and "Suus Mahna". Most modern Vulcans are Vegetarians. Vulcans are known for their high degree of honesty. They are extremely reluctant to tell a lie, and indeed it is said that "Vulcans cannot lie". However, they will do so for what they perceive as logical reasons, though they rarely refer to their dishonesty as "lying." Development of a Vulcan's life of logic begins at a young age. Vulcan parents will utilize learning tools, such as pleenoks, to train their infants in primary logic. Vulcan children will then learn to detach themselves from their emotions at an early age. Despite this early training in logic, Vulcan children in nursery school are allowed to dance. These dances are reminiscent of the dances of the Orion slave girl, just not as well coordinated. As parents, Vulcans never shield their children from the truth. Doing so would only hinder their ability to cope with inevitable difficulties. A Vulcan parent's attachment to their children cannot be described as an emotion. They are part of the parent's identity and the parent is incomplete without them. Vulcans sometimes have mates chosen for them by their parents at the age of seven. The mates are joined in a ceremony that links them telepathically that is "less than a marriage, more than a betrothal". When the two come of age and undergo the Pon farr|pon farr, the link compels them to follow through with full marital rituals, which cement their relationship. If, for whatever reason, the female does not wish to go through with the marriage, then the ceremony of koon-ut-kal-if-fee ("Marriage or Challenge") is invoked. The male must fight for the right to keep his mate against a challenger of her choosing. The female becomes the property of the male who wins the contest, unless he chooses to release her. The koon-ut-kal-if-fee is a fight to the death. :The timing of Pon Farr (every seventh year of a Vulcans "adult life"), would suggest that Vulcans marry either in the equivilant of their early/mid teens (just after the onset of puberty) or in their early/mid 20s (7 years after puberty). Spock first underwent pon farr in his 30s, but his human blood may make his case an abberration. The essence of their logical society is in arriving at the truth through logical process. Emotions are illogical, thus making them impure, and deterrent to truth. Vulcans are born with the same emotions that afflicted their violent ancestors, but continual mental conditioning generally gives them the impassivity they seek. :Emotions like remorse, relief, joy, and embarrassment were all displayed by Spock when he thought Captain Kirk was dead. Additionally, T'Pol showed romantic interest in Commander Tucker on the Enterprise (NX-01), especially due to imbalances caused by exposure to trellium-D. '' Though not all can arrive at the ultimate pure logical state, the exacting process of mental control gives Vulcans enough to conform to the ideals of Vulcan society. The ultimate level of logical thought is achieved through the attainment of ''kolinahr, which is said to purge them of all remaining emotions. Vulcans believe knowledge to be the best defense against unknown dangers, and pursue them with the intellect and logic that makes them some of the finest scholars in the Federation. Vulcans consider death to be the completion of a journey. Therefore, they do not fear it happening, however the loss of one's katra is to be avoided if possible, since the katra lives on beyond the physical death. Culture and tradition * Vulcans were fermenting wines, notably Vulcan port, during the 21st century. :This contradicts a previous statement made by Spock in, where he noted, "''My father's race was spared the dubious benefits of alcohol," when offered a glass of Saurian brandy by Dr. Leonard McCoy.'' :T'Pol also noted in that Vulcans don't drink wine, indicating that perhaps Vulcan port is for cultural purposes only, or perhaps is nonalcoholic. :In "Scientific Method", Tuvok offered to accompany Captain Janeway to drinking wine in a holodeck simulation, possibly further contradicting T'Pol's claims that Vulcans don't drink wine. This could also be just a personal choice between Vulcans or that Vulcans haven't yet built a tolerance for alcoholic beverages. Events in "Timeless" suggested that beverages such as champagne may have contained synthehol rather than alcohol, which is not as intoxicating; it could be that Tuvok's offer was to drink a syntheholic wine, rather than an alcoholic one. * Although it has not always been so, most Vulcans are vegetarians. They also do not touch food with their hands unless wearing special gloves. * Guests in a Vulcan household are expected to rise before sunrise to prepare the morning meal. Plomeek broth is considered a traditional Vulcan breakfast. * Vulcans play a game known as kal-toh. * What little is known about Vulcan religious beliefs indicates that beginning prior to the "Time of the Awakening" they were polytheistic. Surak's teachings became the primary focus of Vulcan spirituality/mysticism, but as late as the 23rd century it was still not unheard of to find Vulcans honoring the traditional gods. There are, however, no demons in Vulcan literature. * Many Vulcan females have names beginning with T' T'Pol, T'Pring, T'Pau, but not all Valeris, Sakonna, Saavik, Selar; many males have names beginning with S Spock, Sarek, Sybok, Surak, Stonn, Soval, but not all Tuvok, Lojal, Vorik. Holidays * Kal Rekk * Rumarie * Tal-Shanar People Vulcans do possess family names, although they are pronounceable by Humans only after many years of practice. in 2154]] Vulcan High Command In the 22nd century, the Vulcan High Command was the most powerful governmental body on planet Vulcan, its de facto military government. Prior to Federation membership During the 22nd century, the High Command was an organization responsible for overseeing the Vulcan military as well as civilian organizations. Organizations *Vulcan Diplomatic Corps *Vulcan Intelligence *Vulcan Ministry of Information *Vulcan Science Directorate History In May 2153, the High Command ordered Subcommander T'Pol (via Ambassador Soval) to return to Vulcan rather than join Enterprise (NX-01) on its mission into the Delphic Expanse. T'Pol resigned her commission rather than obey. In 2154, V'Las, the head of the High Command, planned to attack Andoria, believing that they were developing a planet killer based on Xindi technology. Following that incident, V'Las' High Command was disbanded, ending their diplomatic influence of Earth's decisions. Later that year, T'Pau replaced V'Las as head minister of the Vulcan people. She assumed responsibility over Vulcan's military structure, including many of its warships. She actively began to restructure the military, and those vessels that remained in service no longer had full crew complements (many of whom were still sympathetic to the old High Command and left rather than serve the new leadership). During the incident with the Romulan drone-ship, T'Pau was only able to dispatch 23 vessels to add to the combined Andorian-Human-Tellarite intercept fleet. Federation-era history By the 23rd and 24th centuries, the High Command of Vulcan would fill a very different role, as the planet was a Federation member. Even though many Vulcans were in Starfleet they kept their titles and ranks in the Vulcan High Command. Those that didn't join Starfleet had the choice to join the Vulcan Defense Fleet which consisted of mostly Vulcan vessels. Vulcan Space Central was maintained by the High Command that oversaw all incoming and outgoing ship activity near Vulcan. The Command would continue to help maintain Vulcan security and defense, as well as other internal matters, including the V'Shar. Even after becoming a Federation member, Vulcan still maintained its own fleet of ships. In 2376 the High Command was reformed and began taking a new role in the quadrant. The newly formed Vulcan High Command Council decided to launch new types of vessels, confirming their new place among the galaxies powers. The Council chose to reactivate and update all the Vulcan vessels they could find. All the ships in the Vulcan fleet help to inforce Federation law and protection with the rest of the Federation and Starfleet vessels. The Vulcan High Command Council was formed using the members of the group responsible for reforming the Vulcan High Command. The Council also created General orders (Vulcan High Command General Orders) similar to that of Starfleets. 'Vulcan High Command Council (VHCC/ VHC Council):' The Council consists of the five High Command Members 4 of which represent different part of the Vulcan Government and the last being the Administrator, the head of the Council and High Command. There are 3 High Council members one being the Administrator and the two Chief Council Members Which are the heads of the two major ministies on Vulcan, The Space Ministry and The Security Ministry. The Space Ministry oversees all Space matters, Colonies, trade, Traffic, Space region laws and in most cases the Vulcan Command Fleet. The Security Ministry oversees all members of Vulcan security. V'Ket, V'Shar, V'Kor and in combat or other high danger or tactical related issues the Vulcan Command Fleet. Post Federation-Era History In 2383 The High Command seceded from the Federation for several reason. Building for well over a hundred since the Vulcan Ministries chose to take a more active role in the federation, but were being limited by the needs for resources by starfleet and the new Federation and the Axanar Crisis. The Axanar Crisis in 2253 was the first serious debate about leaving the Federation but was dismissed as most of the council still though that the Federation needed the guidance of the Vulcan High Command. Category: CoV Category: Species Category: Vulcan Category: Planets